Careful what you ask for: An edgy New Zealand Hotel chain has been gifted a human uterus. Photo / Hey Paul; Flickr, CC.20
Careful what you ask for: An edgy New Zealand Hotel chain has been gifted a human uterus. Photo / Hey Paul; Flickr, CC.20
A Ghanaian fertility goddess, a sombrero that has sailed to every continent and a condom from Chernobyl are among the objects left by guests for auction by a New Zealand hotel chain.
The QT Auckland is raising money - and doubtless many questions - with the sale of an objectcalled the Lamp of Chaos, which goes to auction this week. It’s all for a good cause.
As part of a promotion, the quirky hospitality company invited the public to offer their most unusual objects in exchange for a free night at one of the hotels in Australia and New Zealand.
The resulting collection of curios went on to be used as material for the lamps - one in Auckland the other in Sydney, and a coffee-table book named Curious Currencies.
Wilson says the book is both “beautifully produced” and “catalogues every peculiar curiosity and its backstory”.
The Lamp of Chaos was created by Leon Wilson and his studio Destroy All Monsters out of guests' donated oddities. Photo / QT
Favourite inclusions comprise a roll of strangers’ shopping receipts, a set of gold cutlery from Siam and 480 preserved love heart lollies.
Winning bids win not only the lamp but other sweepstakes including a two-night stay at the QT hotel of your choosing with breakfast for two, plus a copy of the QT Curious Currencies book.
Proceeds from the Sydney and Auckland auctions go to the Australian Cultural Fund and the NZ Arts Foundation, respectively.
Bids close at 7pm on Sunday, March 10, and are to be submitted directly to the hotel.
Until they go to their new home, the lamps are currently on display for guests at QT Sydney and QT Auckland.
A wonky bunny, fertility statue and locks of long hair were among the submissions that earned hotel stays. Photo / Supplied, QT
What goes into a lamp of chaos?
The Lamp of Chaos II is made of objects exchanged by New Zealand guests for a stay in a QT hotel.
During the giveaway in 2022 the hotel chain exchanged 365 nights for objects including an “actual human uterus” according to QT. While not all of the objects made the cut for inclusion in the lamp, each are in the book with their unique story.
Among the objects enshrined in, possibly, the ugliest but most interesting table lamp you’ll ever encounter:
An album of strangers’ shopping lists: One curious checkout operator made a habit of collecting discarded shopping lists, artfully arranging them in a photo album of their own.
Post-apocalyptic prophylactic: Purchased in an Amsterdam shop opposite to the apartment where Quentin Tarantino wrote the screenplay for Pulp Fiction. This relic from the nuclear disaster site of Chernobyl features a condom demonstrating how to wear a gas mask.
A well-travelled sombrero: This hat crossed the seven seas with its owner after a long and arduous stint on the kind of mega vessel some would call a “commercial cruise ship”.
Lucky fertility charm: An Akuaba fertility goddess token from the Ashanti tribe of Ghana is so potent that just one touch before entering the bedroom will result in pregnancy.
Three pigtails: Despite the name, they are not from pigs but braids of genuine human hair.
A Chernobyl-themed prophylactic. Photo / Supplied; QT
